My Visit to the Louvre; Paris, France

Musee du Louvre - Paris, France

photo credit: Raphael Frey | Source

I decided I would walk from Fouquets on the Champs Elysees boulevard to the grand Palace of the Muses, the magnificent Musee de Louvre. The Arc de Triumphe sits at the opposite end of Champs Elysees and the Louvre is the resplendent capstone in all of its French glory. It was a beautiful day in July and I had heard so much about the Louvre, I knew I wanted to tour it on my own. There is something about art and history that belongs to the masses and yet something profoundly personal about observing it for the first time.

Before entering the grand walkways and walking through the arches, I stopped to admire the beautiful fountain at the Place de la Concorde, in the center of a round about. While walking through the Tuileries, which I had seen so many times in paintings, I understood why so many spend leisurely time sitting near the fountains. People taking a rest, locals reading or pretending to read the newspaper with their little dogs near them, children floating small toy boats in the water, couples embracing; it is a painting come alive.

I entered the famous Louvre Pyramid and took an escalator down to the sunken court where I bought my ticket. It is flooded with light from the 666 glass panes of the pyramid designed to illuminate with natural light. It was quite crowded and people were everywhere. There are additional entrances that can be found here, which are not as congested. There were people from many cultures and I could hear various languages being spoken. Once you have your ticket and map, there are escalators which take you to different wings of the enormous structure. It is wise to have a plan before you start wandering.

Ceiling Panel Inside The Louvre

Oriental Antiquities

limestone relief of Ur-Nanshe, founder of I Dynasty of Lagash 2500B.C.

Egyptian Antiquities

Funerary Stele of Taperet on painted wood 900-800 B.C.

Learn More About The Lourvre

Palace of the Muses

There are three different wings on four floors. There is the Richelieu Wing, Sully Wing and the Denon Wing. There is the Lower Ground Floor, Ground Floor, First Floor and Second Floor. It is impossible to see everything with one visit so I had to decide which areas I most wanted to visit. They were having a special exhibition at the time of pencil drawings by Leonardo deVinci, so that was certainly a must see and it was incredulous to see these amazing works displayed.

Just to give you an idea of the treasures that are housed at the Louvre, I will list the different categories which can be seen and enjoyed.

Medieval Louvre

Oriental Antiquities

Egyptian Antiquities

Greek, Etruscan and Roman Antiquities

French Paintings

Italian Paintings

Flemish Paintings

Dutch Paintings

German Paintings

Spanish Paintings

English Paintings

Graphic Arts

Sculptures

Objets D’Art

World Sculptures

I started with oriental antiquities from Mesopotamia on the ground floor in the Richelieu wing. The first cities, states began to emerge with the Sumerians 2450 B.C. Writing began as they used sculpture to carve hieroglyphics as a form of communication. It was marvelous to gaze at these objects of the builders and warriors of a society. I marveled at the hierarchy of power established so early in life. There is a limestone relief of Ur-Nanshe, 2500 B.C., who was the founder of the I dynasty of Lagash (modern day Iraq), with a basket of bricks on his head commanding his troops as they trample on the bodies of their enemies. He was what is known as a builder-king. I walked through this wing in awe, marveling at the detailed intellect of these people preserving their history and beliefs. It is the earliest known civilization and this area is now known as the cradle of civilization.

Greek Antiquities

Aphrodite from the island of Melos 'Venus de Milo'

Winged Victory of Samothrace, 190 B.C. has graced the Louvre since 1884

From Aphrodite to Winged Victory

I then wandered into the Denon wing and found the Greek and Roman antiquities. The most famous piece in this wing is Aphrodite, also known as Venus de Milo. The Greek goddess of beauty was carved from marble around 100 B.C., which is known as the Hellenistic era. I had taken courses in college of Art History and Classical Humanities and remembered learning about much of what I was now seeing. It was a very humbling and awesome time for me realizing the significance of history and the importance of preservation.

In the Sully wing I discovered the Egyptian antiquities. The Egyptians preoccupied themselves with preparing their soul for life beyond. The room is filled with beautiful, colorful, detailed, sarcophagi (coffin), stelae which resemble raised tombstones. They are covered with painted rites of passage to be followed, which would include a magic formula, scenes of burial, daily life after death, prayers addressed to the god Ra-Horakhti. They are life size, and quite elaborate and beautiful. Everything is symbolic. I leave this area with a piqued curiosity about the mysteries of the great beyond and, perhaps subconsciously symbolic, walk upstairs to the first floor.

As I continued walking, I saw her, the monumental statue of the goddess, Winged Victory, or Nike, in Greek. It was unearthed on the small island of Samothrace in the Agaean Sea in 1863. She graces a prominent place in the Denon wing at the top of a beautiful staircase. It also is carved from marble. Wings are unfurled, celebrating a battle. Wings also symbolize the connection between heaven and earth, gods to men and men to the beyond. She is gorgeous and many are taking photographs, including myself. There is a connection made with the divine as I walk down the stairway.

A Gift to the World

My visit to the Louvre, in some respects, was like a dream. I remember stopping at times and gazing at the lifelike statues of gods and goddesses or looking through glass at a silicon ceramic peacock dish with decoration painted under glaze found in Turkey (1540 B.C.) I realized where I was, but everything around me was from another world, another time. (Lucky for me, I kept a journal and took photographs.) The Musee de Louvre truly is a gift to the world.

Thank you for reading and please feel free to leave a comment.

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Author

rebekahELLE 5 years agofrom Tampa Bay

Thanks vespa. Even the outside is so beautiful. I love the 'presence' that is has. There is such a feeling of walking through history! I still haven't written about the paintings!

There is such detail needed when writing these kind of hubs. It sounds like you toured the museum the best way and stuck to a schedule. Needless to say, it truly is the Palace of the Muses.

vespawoolf 5 years agofrom Peru, South America

What a nice hub on the Louvre! It is unbelievably sprawling and I could have spent a week there and still not seen everything. We had a plan before entering. We'd mapped out the areas/exhibits that especially interested us and stuck to a strict schedule. It helped make the most of the time we'd set aside for the Louvre. It's an unforgettable museum!

Author

rebekahELLE 6 years agofrom Tampa Bay

Thanks alocsin! I'm glad you enjoyed it and thank for the link. I just gave your hub a tweet! :]

alocsin 6 years agofrom Orange County, CA

One of my favorite museums. Linking this to my Paris hub.

London Paris Trains 6 years ago

Paris is the most fascinating and romantic city in Whole World. It is the most visited by couples. I always love to explore this charming city which is also called city of light. Eiffel Tower, Louvre, Notre Dam and Les Invalides are some of the unique attractions in Paris. Paris is most preferable tourist destination because easy accessibility by high speed Eurostar train. Eurostar train is a high-speed Passenger train connecting UK to Mainland Europe. You can reach Paris in record time of 2hr 15min with Eurostar from London. Paris offers something for everyone. Do make visit to this fabulous city and enjoy your journey through Eurostar.

Author

rebekahELLE 7 years agofrom Tampa Bay

thank you CM for reading and commenting. I agree that the Egyptian rooms are fascinating, so much to see and think about while looking at everything. I couldn't even see Mona Lisa, there were too many people crowded around it taking pics. I was somewhat shocked to see all of the cameras.

thanks drbj! lucky you to have been able to make a visit last year to the lovely city. the Louvre is amazing, isn't it? I have a friend who lives in Paris and has been there so many times, he has quit counting. He goes often to see the current exhibitions. wouldn't that be nice??

drbj and sherry 7 years agofrom south Florida

I had the good fortune to visit Paris last year and the Louvre. It is undoubtedly one of the most remarkable museums in the world and I wished I could have spent more time admiring its art treasures and absorbing its history.

Excellent, descriptive hub, rebekahELLE

CMHypno 7 years agofrom Other Side of the Sun

Great Hub on the Louvre rebekahELLE - I love the Egyptian rooms and where in the basement you can walk around the old medieval foundations. The Mona Lisa is a disappointment though!

Author

rebekahELLE 7 years agofrom Tampa Bay

thank you uriel and james, yes, it was and is breathtaking to see such beauty and history all in one place. I realize it was a special trip and I do very much treasure my memories. I'm currently beginning the work for the second part which will cover some of the outstanding paintings in the Louvre. thank you both for your time in reading and sharing your comments. :)

James A Watkins 7 years agofrom Chicago

The Louvre is the top museum in the world. How blessed you are to have been there in person and view the priceless treasures they have there by the ton. Beautiful Hub. Thanks.

Uriel 7 years agofrom Lebanon

WOOW the pictures are simply breathtaking amazing !!!!! I whole history written and joined by time to form a long time line that can be viewed and inspected just by observation :D

WOOOOW

Author

rebekahELLE 7 years agofrom Tampa Bay

thank you greensnob and mow, my pleasure to share my experience with you! I think anyone that travels there or lives there knows how special and beautiful it really is. it's quite hard to put in words to make it live for others, so I appreciate your very nice comments. happy to have brought back warm memories for you. :]

myownworld 7 years agofrom uk

Oh I lived in France (on the outskirts of paris) for 5 years....and there were days I would roam in paris for hours, taking in that breathtaking beauty and thinking I had finally memorized it all...and yet it all seems like a dream now! Thank for this brilliant hub! Brought back many warm memories....

greensnob 7 years ago

Thanks for the trip to Paris. i saw it again through your eyes.

Author

rebekahELLE 7 years agofrom Tampa Bay

Thanks everyone for the comments! There were numerous times while there when I felt overwhelmed. I would sit on a bench or stand in awe with little tears in my eyes to see such beauty and history. There will be another hub soon.... :]

James Mark 7 years agofrom York, England

Thanks for this - I had forgotten how brilliant the sculptures are, to get that much expression out of stone is amazing. Thanks too for your comment on my entries.

Holle Abee 7 years agofrom Georgia

Beautiful hub! I can't imagine what it would be like to be in the presence of such awesome art. Thanks for sharing!

Hillary 7 years agofrom Atlanta, GA

Wonderful information. I will bookmark it for reference and I look forward to more. Love that avatar.

Petra Vlah 7 years agofrom Los Angeles

Thank you for a great hub,

It gives a feel for the Louvre, it is informative for all and it brings back memories for me.